 "Photo: Stephen Durda")
We've all been there - sitting on the couch watching American Idol with a group of friends when one of the contestants launches into the 1987 dance-pop classic "Never Gonna Give You Up." After the contestant is ebulliently praised by Paula Abdul and brought to tears by Simon Cowell, Ryan Seacrest tells America that their votes are now more important than ever, and the commercials roll. Someone asks, "Hey, who sings that song anyway?"
"Peabo Bryson?"
"Michael McDonald?"
"Luther Vandross?"
But no one knows. Someone could Google it, but the computer is all the way in the other room. What's a lazy but inquisitive soul to do?
ChaCha.
ChaCha started in September 2006 as a search engine that, like most, languished in Google's shadow. In January of 2008, ChaCha began to carve out a niche by launching its mobile answers text service - text any question to 242-242 and receive an answer, incurring nothing but the standard text message charge.
ChaCha expanded on this offering in April, launching its mobile answers voice service, which allows users to call an electronic answering system and record a question that is then transcribed and passed on to a guide - someone who has signed up to answer questions for ChaCha - who in turn sends you a text message answering your query.
There seems to be very little oversight of the answers that guides send out, though. For example, about halfway through the final round of the U.S. Open, the question was "How is Tiger Woods doing in the U.S. Open?" The response was, "It's over, he won." Tiger did win eventually, in an 18-hole playoff with Rocco Mediate, the following day.
What's most interesting about ChaCha - aside from some questions such as "My friend is stuck in the chimney, what should I do?" - is its business model. It is very difficult to understand how the mobile answers text service generates revenue.
ChaCha claims to make money through advertising and "strategic partnerships." Thankfully, there is no advertising involved in asking ChaCha a question. But the Web site does warn: You are granting express permission to receive our response even if you are registered on a Do-Not-Call registry. You expressly agree that, as part of the services provided by ChaCha, you may receive promotional communications, alerts and third party advertising from ChaCha via text message.
Not having ads sent to their phones is nice for users, but probably harms the company's bottom line. Perhaps in the future ChaCha's answers will be accompanied by strategically selected advertisements.
But it is not for idle "Idol" fans to concern themselves with how the service that provides answers to their burning questions makes money. ChaCha allows a couch-bound questioner to whip out a cell phone, fire off a text message to 242-242 and in minutes receive a friendly reply from a real person sitting at a computer somewhere in the vast expanse of the World Wide Web: "Rick Astley is the artist of 'Never Gonna Give You Up.' Thanks for using ChaCha!"
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